


Abasement

by allonsytastic



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Actor AU, F/M, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-22
Updated: 2016-03-22
Packaged: 2018-05-28 11:00:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6326350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allonsytastic/pseuds/allonsytastic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>" ...and with this thought he strides forward towards the audience, crossing the stage with determinate steps while his eyes are locked with Rose Tyler's... "</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>A thespian doctor makes a dramatic exit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Abasement

**Author's Note:**

> hey there, first time author posting (unbeta'd), so please excuse spelling and punctuation errors (especially punctuation, which gives me nightmares on a regular basis ;)). 
> 
> as usual, none of the characters are mine

**Abasement**

 

A thespian doctor and a dramatic performance.

* * *

 

The Doctor - seasoned veteran of the stage - takes a deep breath and begins his monologue. Pacing up and down the scene, his heavy footsteps are the only sounds to be heard in the auditorium besides his voice. While the audience is listening in awe, their silence only broken by an occasional cough, he is transformed into his character, _Hamlet, Prince of Denmark._

Having played this role time and time again (first during his years in boarding school, later on in small community theatres) he's finally doing it in a venue that does the play justice. A venue that meets the grandeur and gravity of the narrative.

As he takes a dramatic pause and lets his gaze wander through the room momentously, his eyes are caught by...

_Of course she'd be here._

Rose Tyler - renowned theatre columnist - is sitting up in the box. Her passion for theatre makes her a ruthless critic. The Doctor and she, albeit having never met in person, have a history of heated public correspondence in the newspapers; him in interviews and her in her reviews. How two people could have such vastly different interpretations of classic literature and theatre is beyond him; and even though he considers himself a model of composure, Rose Tyler continually manages to push him to the limits of self-restraint with her outrageous opinions. _Hamlet_ , it seems, is to be the subject of the next round in their discourse.

Prompted by her presence, the Doctor sets on for the last lines of the scene. This is the play that's most dear to his heart; this performance is his magnum opus. He will leave her no choice but to give him the best damn review she has ever written. Nobody will leave this theatre tonight with any doubt as to how Shakeespeare is supposed to be played.

And with this thought he strides forward towards the audience, crossing the stage with determinate steps while his eyes are locked with Rose Tyler's. Then - just as he is about to hurl those last senteces out into the auditorium - his foot only finds thin air instead of solid ground and the Doctor makes his most dramatic exit from the stage yet - by stumbling down head first.

* * *

Upon opening his eyes, he finds himself under attack by garish neon lighting and relentless beeping. A look to his right confirms his apprehension.

_Get-well cards. Flowers, even._

What's he supposed to do with flowers, anyway? It's not enough to be in hospital, you have to watch a living thing wilt and die beside you? Not exactly encouraging, that.

Further inspection of his surroundings reveals a newspaper clipping left on his bedside table. Curious, he picks it up and finds a note attached to it. Skimming the paper, he groans in humiliation as he remembers what brought him here in the first place.

_A fall from grace, quite literally._

He skips the rest of the clipping and goes straight on to the note.

_"Loved your interpretation of Hamlet. Bit dramatic in the end, though. Still, I thought we might actually talk in person sometime. Need to make sure you haven't lost you thespian genius in that accident, fallin' on your head and all, right?."_

He doesn't need to look at the signature to know who that card is from. A grin starts to spread across his face, which only grows wider as he turns the note and finds her phone number scribbled in the back with a tiny annotation -

_"Chips?"_

 

 

 


End file.
